Late in his life, George H.W. Bush pondered just who he would want to see first in heaven.

The nation's 41st president took the question posed by granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager in an interview for NBC’s "Today" seriously, turning it over in his mind. If Barbara Bush, his wife of seven decades, died before he did, he would want to start with her, he decided. And the mother he adored, Dorothy Walker Bush.

And Robin.

He had a picture in his mind’s eye of how he hoped his daughter would appear to him – as the chubby, vivacious 3-year-old she had been before she was diagnosed with leukemia in 1953. Until that day, he had never heard of the disease that would kill her six months later.

The illness and death of Pauline Robinson Bush would be threaded through the life of her father and her mother. The experience taught them a terrible lesson about the ways the innocent can be caught and crushed by life's unfairness. It left a stamp about what matters, and what doesn’t. It fueled George Bush's determination to do something big in life, beyond the oil business he was building in Texas. After he became president decades later, it helped shape his policies toward the epidemic of HIV/AIDS.

Robin’s illness tested her parents’ marriage, then strengthened it.

The young couple’s response to that crisis forged a template they followed through the ebbs and flows of their long union, at 73 years the longest of any president and first lady in U.S. history.

Cartoonist Marshall Ramsey of the (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger drew this image after the death of George H.W. Bush. The cartoon show the former president flying his World War II Avenger aircraft into the clouds to join his wife Barbara, who passed away in April, and their young daughter Robin, who died from leukemia at age 3 in 1953.(Photo: Marshall Ramsey, Clarion-Ledger)

One rule: No crying

When Robin was being treated at New York's Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, Barbara Bush set one rule: No crying in her room. Her mother didn’t want the little girl unsettled by seeing the adults in her life in tears.

George Bush, a man of open emotion, found it almost impossible to comply. Again and again, he told Robin he had to go to the bathroom, then stepped into the hallway to regain his composure.

“We used to laugh and wonder if Robin thought he had the weakest bladder in the world,” Barbara Bush said later. “Not true. He just had the most tender heart.”

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George H.W. Bush, whose presidency soared with the coalition victory over Iraq in Kuwait, but then plummeted in the throes of a weak economy that led voters to turn him out of office after one term, has died. He was 94 (Dec 1)
AP

George Bush knew how hard it was on Barbara to be the stoic, to be the one in control. Years later, he wrote a revealing aside in a letter to a constituent in his congressional district who had been diagnosed with cancer. “Someone had to look into Robin’s eyes and give her comfort and love,” he said, “and somehow, Paul, I didn’t have the guts.”

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Former President George H.W. Bush spent most of his life serving our country. USA TODAY's Susan Page takes us back through key moments.
USA TODAY

When Robin died, Barbara was the one who collapsed into sorrow, and George Bush was the one who took charge. “Time after time during the next six months,” she said, “George would put me together again.”

The pattern of one stepping up when the other was struggling – and of being able to switch those roles between them – sustained the couple during times of political defeat and personal pain from then on.

That was the defining experience Barbara Bush chose to talk about at the Republican National Convention in 1988, a moment of political triumph as her husband was nominated for president. She noted in passing her husband’s impressive résumé, the stints in Congress and at the United Nations and the CIA and the vice presidency. Then she turned to their personal tragedy.

“The hardest thing we ever faced together was the loss of a child,” she said, her voice thickening as she worked to keep her emotions in check. “I was very strong over the months we were trying to save her – at least, I thought I was. Maybe I was just pretending. But when she was gone, I fell apart. But George wouldn’t let me retreat into my grief. He held me in his arms, and he made me share it and accept that his sorrow was as great as my own."

The stigma of disease

During her treatment in New York, Robin was allowed to go home to Midland, Texas, for one last visit. Even some family friends were afraid to visit, worried that the then-mysterious disease might be catching.

“When Robin got sick, people avoided us like the plague,” Barbara Bush said in an interview last year with this writer for a biography. Her voice was marked more by sorrow than anger, all these years later. “Even my close friends.”

When Bush became president, HIV/AIDS faced a stigma of its own, one laced with discriminatory attitudes toward homosexuality. The Reagan White House had done little to address the emerging crisis.

Bush delivered a speech on AIDS in March 1990, his first major attempt to address the subject. He called for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to go “on a wartime footing” to combat the disease.

“When our own daughter was dying of leukemia, we asked the doctor the same question every HIV family must ask – why, why this was happening to our beautiful little girl?” Bush said in the speech. He had seen friends die of AIDS, he went on. “There is only one way to deal with an individual who is sick: with dignity, compassion, care, confidentiality, and without discrimination.”

It was the only time during his presidency that Bush mentioned Robin by name in his public remarks. In the privacy of his diaries, he sometimes noted her birthdays. In affectionate letters to his wife, he repeated a phrase that Robin coined: “I love you more than tongue can tell.”

On the day in October 1987 that he announced he would run for president, the election that would cap his career, Bush was thinking about the daughter he had lost. “Bar looks beautiful,” he wrote in his diary, then added, “Thirty-four years ago today, Robin died.”

After a memorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington and a funeral at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, George Bush will be laid to rest in a wooded grove near his presidential library in College Station, Texas. He will be buried Thursday beside the grave of Barbara Bush.

And next to Robin.

Susan Page, USA TODAY’s Washington Bureau chief, is the author of "The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty," which will be published in April 2019.

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Visitors take pictures and look at the gravesite of former US President George H.W. Bush, center, his wife Barbara Bush, left, and their daughter Robin at the Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas on Dec. 8, 2018. Bush died at the age of 94 on Nov. 30, 2018 at his home in Texas. George H.W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States (1989-1993). Larry W. Smith, EPA-EFE

The gravesite of former US President George H.W. Bush, center, his wife Barbara Bush , right, and their daughter Robin at the Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas on Dec. 8, 2018. Larry W. Smith, EPA-EFE

Security unlocks the gate for people waiting in line outside the gate to have a look at the gravesite of former US President George H.W. Bush, his wife Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin at the Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas on Dec. 8, 2018. Larry W. Smith, EPA-EFE

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard for burial at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on Dec. 6, 2018 in College Station, Texas. President Bush will be buried at his final resting place at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. A WWII combat veteran, Bush served as a member of Congress from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice president and 41st president of the United States. Pool photo by David J. Phillip

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard followed by family members at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in College Station, Texas. Pool photo by Jeff Roberson

Family members follow the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in College Station, Texas. Pool photo by Matt York, Getty Images

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard followed by family members the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in College Station, Texas. Pool photo by Jeff Roberson

The Hearse carrying the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, arrives at the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station on Thursday, Dec 6, 2018. Courtney Sacco, USA TODAY Network

Members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets salute the hearse carrying George H.W. Bush as it arrives at the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station on Thursday, Dec 6, 2018. Courtney Sacco, USA TODAY Network

A joint military honor guard carries the casket of former President George H.W. Bush after it arrived by a presidential funeral train at Texas A&M University in College Station for burial at the George Bush Presidential Library on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman via AP

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, second from left, with wife Columba, and former President George W. Bush, center, with wife Laura, and other family members, watch as the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard after if arrived by train for burial at the George Bush Presidential Library, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in College Station. Eric Gay, AP

People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former US President George H.W. Bush passes along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas on Dec. 6, 2018. David J. Phillip, AFP/Getty Images

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes through Magnolia, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. Pool photo by David J. Phillip

People line the tracks along a rural road as they wait for the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush to his final resting place on Dec. 6, 2018 near Whitehall, Texas. President Bush will be buried at his final resting place at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. A WWII combat veteran, Bush served as a member of Congress from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice president and 41st president of the United States. Scott Olson, Getty Images

People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes through Navasota, Texas, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas on Dec. 6, 2018. Pool photo by David J. Phillip, EPA-EFE

People pay their respects as the train carrying the casket of former US President George H.W. Bush passes on Dec. 6, 2018, along the route from Spring to College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip, AFP/Getty Images

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard on Dec. 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. President Bush will be buried at his final resting place at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. A WWII combat veteran, Bush served as a member of Congress from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice president and 41st president of the United States. Pool photo by David J. Phillip

A Union Pacific locomotive, painted to look like Air Force One, will carry former President George H.W. Bush to his resting place in College Station, Texas waits at the station on Dec. 6, 2018 in Spring, Texas. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

People line the road as the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush heads to the Union Pacific train facility on Dec. 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. Pool by David J. Phillip

U.S. Service Members with the Ceremonial Honor Guard carry the casket of former President George H.W. Bush at the Funeral Service, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on Dec. 6, 2018. Rachel Clow, USA TODAY Network

The family of former President George H.W. Bush, including former president George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, watch as the casket is escorted following the Funeral Service, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on Dec. 6, 2018. Rachel Clow, USA TODAY Network

U.S. Service Members with the Ceremonial Honor Guard carry the casket of former President George H.W. Bush at the Funeral Service, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on Dec. 6, 2018. Rachel Clow, for USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard out of St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard out of St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former President George W. Bush watches at the conclusion of the funeral service for former President George H.W. Bush at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard out of St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former White House Chief of Staff James Baker after he gave a eulogy at the funeral service for former President George H.W. Bush at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on Dec. 6, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard into St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

George P. Bush passes the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush after speaking at the funeral service at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard and placed in St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard into St. Martin's Episcopal Church Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Houston. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of George H.W. Bush is led inside St. Martin's Episcopal Church after a military band played Hail to the Chief. The church in Houston's upscale Tanglewood neighborhood, was the spiritual home to the Bush family for more than 50 years. John Moritz, Corpus Christi Caller-Times via USA TODAY Network

Sgt. Wayne Goldwater of the Texas A&M Police Department guards the burial site of George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman via AP

Special Air Mission 41 carries the body of President George H.W. Bush over the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, the day before he will be buried there. Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman via AP

Texas A&M students Logan Mitchell, left, and Olivia Flores look at a statue of President George H.W. Bush at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman via AP

Former President George W. Bush and family members of former President George H.W. Bush walk off Special Air Mission 41 as the casket arrives at Ellington Field Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Houston. Eric Gay, AP

Former President George W. Bush, with hand on heart, stands as his father, former President George H.W. Bush is carried from the Washington National Cathedral at the conclusion of the State Funeral service on Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former President George W. Bush returns to his seat after speaking during a State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melanie Trump with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, watch the conclusion of the State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, listen during a State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney speaks during the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former president George W. Bush, center, reaches past President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and former president Barack Obama to greet former first Lady Michelle Obama during the funeral service of former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice President Joe Biden arrive at a state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, greet former Sen. Alan Simpson as former President George H.W. Bush before a state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at a State Funeral for Former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush watch as the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard to a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Alex Brandon, AP

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive for the State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Carolyn Kaster, AP

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as they join other former presidents and vice presidents and their spouses for the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Congressional leaders from left to right, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., watch as a U.S. military honor guard carries the flag-draped casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush from the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Pool photo by Win McNamee

Justino Delara, 100-years-old, joins the crowd to watch the arrival of the hearse containing the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Hannah Gaber, USA TODAY

Crowds gathered on a cold winter day to watch the arrival of the hearse containing the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. Hannah Gaber, USA TODAY

The hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is driven away from the Capitol to a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool) ORG XMIT: DCAB205 Pool photo by Alex Brandon

People watch as the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush passes Freedom Plaza on its way to a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Pool photo by Alex Brandon

People watch as the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush heads to a State Funeral at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool) ORG XMIT: DCAB515 Pool photo by Alex Brandon

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard from the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Pool photo by Alex Brandon

From right, former President George W. Bush, second from right, former first lady Laura Bush, Neil Bush, Sharon Bush, Bobby Koch, Doro Koch, Jeb Bush and Columba Bush, stand just prior to the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush being carried by a joint services military honor guard from the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. Pool photo by Alex Brandon

Former President Barack Obama, right, talks with Vice President Mike Pence before the funeral services for former President George H. W. Bush at the National Cathedral, in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. ERIK S. LESSER, EPA-EFE

Former Vice President Joe Biden, fourth from left, and his wife Jill Biden, second from left, speak with Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump, third from left, and her husband, President Donald Trump's White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, third from right, as former Vice President Al Gore, second from right, speak to former President Jimmy Carter, right, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, bottom center, before a State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. AP

Former President Jimmy Carter, left, talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they arrive for the funeral services for former President George H. W. Bush at the National Cathedral, in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. ERIK S. LESSER, EPA-EFE

Vice President Mike Pence, left, greets former Vice President Joe Biden as they arrive for the funeral services for former President George H. W. Bush at the National Cathedral, in Washington, Dec. 5, 2018. ERIK S. LESSER, EPA-EFE

Jon Meacham, left, novelist and presidential biographer who will give a eulogy at George H.W. Bush's funeral service and previously gave a eulogy at the funeral of Barbara Bush, pays respects to President George H.W. Bush who lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

Colin Powell, the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005), who served under President George W. Bush, center, pays respect to President Bush as he lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Dec. 4, 2018. Jack Gruber, USAT

President George H.W. Bush's service dog Sully with Valerie Cramer of America's VetDogs at the U.S. Capitol to honor late president. Sully, a service dog trained by America's VetDogs, will join Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's Facility Dog Program after the holidays. President George H.W. Bush lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Dec. 4, 2018. Jack Gruber, Jack Gruber-USA TODAY NETWORK

The Presidential Salute Battery marks the arrival of President George H. W. Bush's casket at the U.S. Capitol with a 21-gun salute by canons used in WWII, in which Bush also served.
HANNAH GABER, USA TODAY

Current Cabinet members pay their respect to the former President George H.W. Bush lies at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday. The late president will lie in state until 7 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

Top- ranking Republicans Vice President Mike Pence, 2nd left, his wife Karen Pence, Janna Ryan, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sec. of Transportation Elaine Chow and
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pay their respects to the late President George H.W. Bush who lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

Former President George W. Bush puts his arm around former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card as he and members of his family follow the casket carrying Bush's father, former President George H. W. Bush at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Dec. 3, 2018. Win McNamee/POOL/EPA-EFE

Former Secretary of State James Baker, left, and former Vice President Dan Quayle await the arrival of the procession carrying the casket of former President George H. W. Bush. Baker and Bush were close personal friends. Win McNamee/POOL/EPA-EFE

U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) pay their respects to former President George H.W. Bush, on Monday. The late president will lie in state until 7 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

Former president George W. Bush, left, former first lady Laura Bush, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush share a moment as the late former President George H.W. Bush lies in state inside the Rotunda of the US Capitol. ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks as former President George H.W. Bush lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. A WWII combat veteran, Bush served as a member of Congress from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice president and 41st president of the United States. Brendan Smialowski/Pool/Getty Images

Former Secretary of State James Baker III, left, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Colin Powell file in to pay their respects to former President George H.W. Bush. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY

Former President George W. Bush watches as the flag-draped casket of his father, former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard to lie in state in the rotunda of the US Capitol, Monday. ALEX BRANDON/AFP/Getty Images

From right, former US Vice President Dan Quayle, James A. Baker III, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and other wait for the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush to arrive to lie in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Alex Brandon /POOL/EPA-EFE

Former first lady Laura Bush and former president George W. Bush look on as the casket of the late former President George H.W. Bush arrives at the U.S. Capitol, Dec. 3, 2018. A state funeral for Bush will be held in Washington over the next three days, beginning with him lying in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh, left, Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts arrive at the Capitol Rotunda. Former President George H.W. Bush will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda before his state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on Dec. 5. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/POOL/EPA-EFE

U.S. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer talk while Senator Orrin Hatch (L-Rear) looks on as they attend ceremonies for the late President George H.W. Bush inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. A WWII combat veteran, Bush served as a member of Congress from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, vice preside Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Getty Images

Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whittaker arrives inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for a ceremony honoring late President George H. W. Bush at the U.S Capitol Rotunda. Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Getty Images

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, right, talks with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, center, and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., left, as they arrive to attend services for former US President George H.W. Bush. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/POOL/EPA-EFE

Former US President George W. Bush, center, and former First Lady Laura Bush walk from Special Air Mission 41, the plane that carried his father, former US President George H.W. Bush, to Washington ,DC Joint Base Andrews, MD, on Dec. 3, 2018. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Family members watch as the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a joint services military honor guard at Joint Base Andrews. Bush will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda before his state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States (1989-1993), died at the age of 94 on 30 Nov. 2018, at his home in Texas. Alex Brandon/POOL/EPA-EFE

The yellow Labrador retriever Sully, the late former president's faithful service dog, walks on the tarmac after the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush was carried to a hearse. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Joint services military honor guard carry the flag-draped casket of the remains of former President George H.W. Bush during a departure ceremony to Washington at Ellington Field on Dec. 3, 2018 in Houston. Pool photo by David J. Phillip

Members of the U.S. Secret Service carry the casket with former President George H. W. Bush to a hearse at George H. Lewis Funeral Home after a family service, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, in Houston. Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, in Houston. Kiichiro Sato, AP

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps in their dress greens stand outside where the remains of former President George H.W. Bush are kept before the first departure ceremony at George H. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home on Dec. 3, 2018, in Houston Pool photo by Godofredo A. Vasquez

A guest to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in University Park, Texas passes by a painted portrait of Bush's father, the late 41st President George H.W. Bush -- painted by former Pres. George W. Bush -- and a memorial wreath, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. Tom Fox, The Dallas Morning News, via AP

Tiffany Utterson, right, and her children, from left to right, Ella, 11, Ian, 10 and Owen, 8, place a wreath outside the gated community entrance to the home of George H.W. Bush Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, in Houston. David J. Phillip, AP

A moment of silence is observed in the memory of former President George H.W. Bush during the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Calif., Dec. 2, 2018. Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Caroline Cyboran, of Kingwood, Texas, looks at an exhibit while visting the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in College Station. Bush has died at age 94. Family spokesman Jim McGrath says Bush died shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush. David J. Phillip, AP

A messages lies among flowers left at the base of a statue of George H.W. Bush outside the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in College Station. David J. Phillip, AP

The US flag flies at half-staff at the White House in tribute to former US President George H. W. Bush, on Dec. 1, 2018, in Washington, DC. Bush, who guided the US through the end of the Cold War and launched the international campaign to drive Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait, died on November 30, 2018, at his home in Houston. He was 94. Katie Schubauer, AFP/Getty Images

Kalob Duke, 6, of College Station, Texas, sits behind the desk in a replica of the Oval Office exhibit at the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in College Station. David J. Phillip, AP

A man pays his respects to former President George H. W. Bush at a makeshift memorial across from Walker's Point, the Bush's summer home, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush died at the age of 94 on Friday, about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush. Robert F. Bukaty, AP

Caroline Western, 3, of College Station, Texas, touches at a statue of George H.W. Bush inside the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in College Station. David J. Phillip, AP